Irwin County election supervisor urges delay to SB 189 deadline and agrees to pilot Secretary of State ballot redesign

Ethan Compton, Irwin County election supervisor, told the county’s Board of Elections & Registrations on Aug. 19 that equipment and funding shortfalls make meeting SB 189’s July 1, 2026 QR-code removal deadline risky and that a short postponement or immediate state funding is needed to avoid a rushed, costly rollout.

Compton reported on an Aug. 8 meeting of the Georgia House Blue Ribbon Elections Study Committee in Rockmart and on the GAVREO conference, describing broad support among committee members for transitioning to a hand-marked ballot‑on‑demand system with precinct-based optical-scan tabulation (the approach described in SB 214) while recommending limited pilots in 2026 and statewide training through 2027 so a full rollout occurs no earlier than 2028.

Why it matters: Compton and county officials said vendors and counties currently lack the equipment and time to safely replace QR‑coded ballots by mid-2026. They argued that forcing a statewide swap without pilots and training would risk higher error rates, legal challenges and much larger costs for counties and taxpayers.

Compton summarized several recurring topics from the Rockmart meeting: removing outdated sections of Georgia Title 21 to streamline legal research for elections officials; addressing barriers for overseas and deployed military voters, including instances cited where voters paid up to $125 in expedited postage and still missed deadlines; and increasing state support for county elections offices to prevent local budget shortfalls.

On SB 189 specifically, Compton asked legislators and administrative staff to review the bill’s wording to avoid ambiguity in how hand-marked ballots are counted. He warned that unclear language about timing marks and machine coding could invite litigation that, even if unlikely to succeed, could tie up elections in legal challenges and impose additional costs.

Compton said some committee members had discussed using emergency ballots for the remainder of the current Dominion contract through 2028, but county officials warned that approach could dramatically increase local election costs.

GAVREO and Compton signaled support for a measured approach: pilot programs in select counties during the 2026 primaries and broader betas in November 2026, followed by training and a possible full statewide implementation timed for the 2028 presidential cycle. Compton said several committee leaders asked him to give a fuller demonstration at a later meeting.

In a separate, last‑minute update, Compton said the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office requested Irwin County pilot a new ballot redesign focused on optimizing ballot space for the 2026 cycle. The county will test the design in November 2025 for paper emergency, absentee-by-mail and provisional ballots; Compton said Irwin is the third county chosen after Fulton and Cherokee.

Board business and next steps: The board approved its minutes (motion by Rep. Wyatt Thompson; seconded by Vice‑Chair Patricia Thurman) and did not record public comment. Thompson asked how to place a nonbinding local party straw‑poll question on the 2026 ballot; Compton said he would consult the Secretary of State’s Office and expected legal review and state fees would be required. No formal policy actions on voting systems or deadlines were taken during the meeting. The board adjourned at 4:45 p.m.; its next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 9 at 4 p.m.